


The Leader Therapy

by jade_lil



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Angst, Arashi - Freeform, Fanfiction, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-08
Updated: 2013-10-08
Packaged: 2017-12-28 20:47:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/996521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jade_lil/pseuds/jade_lil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was Christmas night when Aiba’s beloved mother died.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Leader Therapy

**Author's Note:**

> filling prompts for rainbowfilling! This time it's OhBa, for the prompt : Hush

It was Christmas night when Aiba’s beloved mother died.

No one mentioned the fact that they would have to cancel the usual joint celebration (of Christmas and Aiba’s birthday), everyone moving on autopilot to arrange what should be arranged without bothering anyone in the Aiba family. Sho and Jun even managed to take care of almost everything in just the span of two hours, and the hour after that, her body had been brought back to her family’s home in Chiba where the funeral service was held. 

Two days after, Aiba went missing – or so they thought until he came here, to Aiba’s house in Tokyo where Aiba’s mother died and found his taller friend here, alone. 

He received a call from his manager exactly ten minutes after he received Nino’s obviously worried mail about Aiba. Apparently, Nino had been trying to contact Aiba since he left Chiba but his calls had been going straight to voicemail; Nino even managed to make a joke out of it, saying that he only wanted to know where the hell Aiba was at the moment before Jun and Sho resolved to putting up a search team if only to find out Aiba’s whereabouts. 

He shook his head and tapped at his phone, sending a short ‘ _Don’t worry, he’s fine; I’m with him_ …’ reply to Nino’s mail before putting his phone back into his jacket’s pocket. Afterwards, he quietly strutted back to where he had left Aiba, closing the door behind him as quietly as he possibly could. 

Aiba was still where he left him, sitting on the chair next to his mother’s bed and cradling his mother’s pillow. 

“Ma-kun, everyone is looking for you,” he told Aiba, keeping his voice as low as he could manage, before he quietly stood beside Aiba and gingerly put a hand on top of Aiba’s right shoulder. “Everyone is worried, you know? They’ve been trying to call your phone but –“ 

Aiba sniffed and Ohno didn’t even have to duck down to check that Aiba was crying – again.

“W-Why does she have to die, Leader?” Aiba whispered the same question he had been asking since the night his mother passed away – on Christmas day and on Aiba’s birthday. “Why does she have to leave us so early?” 

Ohno wished he knew the answer to that but no matter how many times he ask himself, he couldn’t come up with anything decent to say, or at least something that was good enough to make sense. Well, even if he could, he didn’t think it would change anything anyway, much more lighten Aiba’s mood, not even the slightest bit because he knew how hard it was losing someone important – someone who had been there almost his entire life. 

The same way he felt when it had been him -- when he was the one who had lost the woman who meant the world to him. 

He kept his hold around Aiba’s shoulder and slowly ducked down to press his lips on top of Aiba’s head, breathing in the scent of Aiba’s hair and letting his taller friend know that he’s there; Aiba was trembling against his hold and it broke his heart knowing that he couldn’t do anything to help ease Aiba’s pain, bring the smile back on Aiba’s face. 

“You know Leader can’t answer that, Ma-kun,” he mumbled into Aiba’s hair, as Aiba struggled to swallow back his sobs, plastering a palm over his mouth to muffle his cries. “No, no,” he said, tugging Aiba’s hand away, “ – just let it out, Ma-kun… it’ll make you feel better, believe me,” 

“I… I m-missed her so much, Leader,” Aiba managed to say despite his tears, even through the painful fact that there would be no more Kaa-chan to come home to when he felt like ditching his life in Tokyo, that there would only be her memories caught on frames and videos to stare into, and that there would be no more warm, affectionate hugs and wonderful mother’s cooking to go home to from now on. 

Ohno gathered Aiba into his arms, held him close and refused to let go. 

“I know, Ma-kun,” he told Aiba, comforted at the fact that Aiba’s no longer pushing him away. “And I’m sure she misses you too,” he paused, planted a soft kiss on the crown of Aiba’s head as he rocked them both, running a comforting hand down Aiba’s back. 

“It’s --  h-hard,” Aiba croaked, his tears seeping through Ohno’s shirt but Ohno didn’t care; Aiba’s tears were a firm reminder that Aiba was still him, that the friend he grew up with was still the same old him even after all these years. 

“I know,” he said, “ – and we’re here to hold your hand when missing her feels too hard to bear; we’ll be here to hug you when you miss her hugs so much, okay?” _the same way you guys did when it was me_ , he wanted to add but kept himself from saying it. Instead, “And don’t you ever forget that, okay? Leader’s hugs are free – you can have them whenever you want, I don’t mind,” he added in a lighter tone which he hoped would ease at least a portion of Aiba’s pain. 

Aiba’s arms tightened around him, almost suffocatingly so but he didn’t mind. 

“Thank _you_ , Leader,” Aiba murmured and he shook his head even though Aiba couldn’t see him. 

“Anytime, Ma-kun,” he responded with a tiny kiss on top of Aiba’s head. “Anytime.”

 

 

 


End file.
